BERNARD WILLIAM ROGERS was born in Fairview, Kansas, on 16 July 1921; graduated from the United States Military Academy, 1943; was commissioned a second lieutenant, June 1943, and attended the basic course at the Infantry School, Fort Benning; was promoted to temporary first lieutenant, December 1943, and assigned to the 275th Infantry, 1943–1944; married Ann Ellen Jones, 1944; was instructor of economics, government, and history at West Point, 1944–1946; was promoted to temporary captain, February 1945; was aide to the High Commissioner to Austria and to the commander of the Sixth Army, 1946–1947; attended Oxford University, England, as a Rhodes scholar, 1947–1950, receiving bachelor and master of arts degrees in philosophy, politics, and economics; was aide to the chief of Army Field Forces, 1950–1951; was promoted to permanent captain, January 1949, and temporary major, July 1951; graduated from the Infantry School advanced course, 1952; commanded the 3d Battalion, 9th Infantry, in Korean operations, 1952–1953; was promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel, August 1953; was aide to the commander in chief and staff intelligence officer of the United Nations and Far East Commands, 1953–1954; graduated from the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, 1955; commanded the 1st Battalion, 23d Infantry, 1955–1956; served in the Coordination Division, Office of the Chief of Staff, 1956–1958; was executive and senior aide to the chief of staff, 1958–1959; was promoted to permanent major (January) and temporary colonel (September), 1959; graduated from the Army War College, 1960; commanded the 1st Battle Group, 19th Infantry, 24th Infantry Division, in Europe, 1960–1961; was chief of staff of the 24th Division and chief of the Troop Operation Branch, Operations Division, United States Army, Europe, 1961–1962; was military assistant and executive officer to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs, 1962–1966; was promoted to permanent lieutenant colonel, January 1964, temporary brigadier general, October 1966, and permanent colonel, June 1968; was assistant division commander of the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam operations, 1966–1967; was commandant of cadets at West Point, 1967–1969; was commander of the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and Fort Carson, 1969–1970; was promoted to temporary major general, February 1970, and permanent brigadier general, August 1971; was chief of legislative liaison, 1971–1972; was promoted to temporary lieutenant general, November 1972, and permanent major general, June 1973; was deputy chief of staff for personnel of the Army, 1972–1974; was promoted to temporary general, November 1974; was commander of the United States Army Forces Command, Fort McPherson, 1974–1976; was chief of staff of the United States Army, 1 October 1976–21 June 1979; supervised the Army’s move to a 24-division all-component force, established priorities for near-term readiness, midterm modernization, and long-term sustainability, established a program to enhance the quality of life of Army personnel, and suggested a limited draft to fill the Individual Ready Reserve; was appointed Supreme Allied Commander, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, July 1979; retired from active service, June 1987.


The Artist

Robert Clark Templeton (1929–1991 ) was born in Red Oak, Iowa. He studied at the Kansas City Art Institute in the late 1940s, pursued private study with John Sloan, attended the Art Students League in New York City in the early 1950s, training under Louis Bouche, Reginald Marsh, and Louis Bosa. During a tour of military service in the 1950s he designed and executed murals for the Army and was an Army staff photographer for a service newspaper at Heidelberg, Germany. He painted the portraits of many prominent individuals, including President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, Roy Wilkins, and Stan Musial. His portrait of General Bernard W. Rogers is reproduced from the Army ARt Collection.

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Painting:  Bernard William Rogers.  By Robert Clark Templeton.
Bernard William Rogers
By Robert Clark Templeton
Oil on canvas, 46" x 36", 1977

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